Instrument panel assembly



7 Jan. 24, 1950 K. M.- LEDERER INSTRUMENT PANEL ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1945 L II III I I I I I I I H1] llllllllq I I I I I I I W 2%. (We

IIINJIIINIIIIIIIII &

WIT- I lmgg mmlll] Jan. 24, 1950 K. M. LEDERER V 2,495,531

INSTRUMENT PANEL ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 9, 1945 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a I A? I la I v Q /a /7 j v i 20 20 g i a a: 22 I Patented Jan. 24, 1950 g 5.":

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INSTRUMENT PANEL ASSEMBLY Karl M. Lederer, Newark, N. J., assignor to Weston Electrical Instrument Corporation, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 9, 1945, Serial No. 627,696

- 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an instrument panel assembly and more particularly to a compact assembly for use where space and weight requirements are critical.

An object of this invention is to provide an instrument panel assembly wherein a plurality of instruments are grouped to economize space and are arranged to give an extremely high ratio of scale length to face area. Another object is to provide an assembly of this type wherein the instruments are mounted on a rack in such manner that they may be quickly detached and replaced. Another object is to provide in such an assembly an instrument rack which is relatively light for the number of instruments it will support. A further object is to provide an improved arrangement for securing an instrument to a supporting rack in such manner that alterations or repairs of the connections to the instrument may be made without removing or otherwise interfering with the instruments.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out in the following description of a preferred embodiment that is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a panel assembly, the two lower instruments being removed to show the lower part of the supporting rack;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the assembly with parts being broken away to show certain details of construction;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of one of the socket connectors of the rack; and

Fig. 4 is a section, as seen on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, through a socket and plug.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a skeleton rack ll! to which'a plurality of instruments l l are secured to form an electrical instrument panel assembly. Electrical connection is made to each instrument through lead wires 12 and a plug-and-socket connector, the plug element I3 being carried by the instrument and the cooperating socket element 14 being attached to the rack. I

The rack Ill comprises a rear panel 15 with forwardly projecting Webs [6 that each terminate in a widened rail or flange I! to which nuts l8 are secured to receive the threaded mounting screws 19 of the instruments. nuts and screws will be described more fully here;- inafter. i

As shown, the rack is of cast metal construction but, of course, may be constructed in any desired way, as by welding metal strips and/ or stampings.

The details of the vibration.

The webs It may be solid, or, in the interest of saving weight, they may be provided with holes as may be consistent with strength. The depth of the webs l6 may be varied or, as one limiting value, the webs may be omitted entirely by mounting the nuts I8 directly in the rear panel l5. As an alternative construction, the mounting screws may be secured to the base, and the nuts may be attached to the instrument.

ihe illustrated instruments H are conventional electrical instruments of the ammeter or voltmeter type, etc., which are in use on aircraft, the instruments being calibrated and connected to measure values such as oil temperature, coolant temperature, current, voltage, and the like. The instrument cases differ, however, from the usual cylindrical or rectangular cases in that they are of a blunt T-shape in plan, see Fig. 2, with the under surfaces of the head resting against the flanges l'l' and the shank of the T-shaped case extending rearwardly between adjacent webs l6 nearly to the rear panel [5 of the rack. In front view, as seen in Fig. 1, the instruments II are of rectangular shape and they are closely arranged to form, in efiect, the front surface of the panel assembly. The instrument cases seat against the flanges l' i at about the center of gravity of the instruments, thereby resulting in minimum stresses in the cases when the panel assembly is subject to mechanical shocks and vibration.

Instead of inserting the mounting bolts into the instrument through the front wall thereof, the front wall of the instrument may be providedwith two flanges or ears, protruding one from each side ofthe instrument, for this purpose. These earsthen provide means for mounting and retaining the bolts I!) which, in this case, extend rearwardly along each side of the instrument casing, and external thereto, to the web of the mounting rack. Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the instruments I l are secured to the flanges llby screws or bolts [9' that are carried by the instrument case and threaded into the nuts l8 that are rigidly secured to'the flanges 11. Each nut l8 has a tubularex tension 20 that fits snugly in an opening through a web H, the extension 20 being slipped into the opening from the rear and having its forward end spun or staked into firm engagement with the flaring outer portion of the opening. The crown of each nut I8 is provided with a conventional fiber Washer or like insert-2i for locking the screw is against inadvertent rotation from shock and The screws l9 are slidable and rotatably supported'in openings 22 through the outer portions a small portion of the screw heads 24 in front of the instrument case when the screws are turned down.

From the foregoing description of the means for attaching an instrument to the rack, it will be evident that the mounting and removal of an instrument are greatly facilitated as the nuts 18 cannot become detached from the rack and lost,

and the screws I9 likewise cannot become detached from the instrument but are always in position to be driven home when the instrument is placed in its location in the panel assembly. A particular advantage of this new mounting ar- 'rangementis that the instruments may be mounted upon or removed from the rack without opening the instrument casings and without going to the rear of the rack to remove clamping nuts.

As has been briefly mentioned hereinbefore, current is led to each instrument through a connector comprising a plug [3, attached to the back of the instrument, and a socket 54, secured in the rear panel of the rack. The socket is shown in front View in the lower part of Fig. 1 and in section in Fig. 4. I

Referring particularly to Fig. i, the plug l3 has a metallic shell 25 on an insulating base 25 of molded synthetic resin or the like in which conducting prongs 2? are embedded or secured. The cylindrical shell 25 extends rearwardly just beyond the rear tips of the prongs 2'! and serves as a protecting sleeve therefor. Holes 28 are provided in the plug for the passage of screws for attaching the plug to the back of an instrument.

The socket it has an outer metallic cup 25 within which an insulating body 36 of plastic material is retained by a spring ring 3|. Metallic sleeves are mounted in bores of the body 38 in complementary relation to the pins or prongs 21 of the plug 23, the forward ends of thesleeves being tubular and preferably split to provide spring fingers to receive and tightly grip the prongs oi the plug. The sleeves are retained in the insulating body 38 by set screws 33 that also serve to secure the ends of the lead wires in the inserts. g V

In order-to provide for a tight seal betweenthe outer cup 28 of the socket l4 and the shell 25 of the plug IS, the insulating body 3t] in the socket preferably is formed of a plastic material having a degree of flexibility such that the rearwardly facing rim of the shell 25 presses into the flexible plastic when the two sections of the connector are brought together to establish electrical connection. Thus, the interior of the connector is protected against outside atmospheric influences when the two sections of the connector are engaged.

The usual instrument H requires only two leads [2 but the illustrated plug and socket connectors l3, it have four conducting paths to permit the mounting of various instruments that have three or four terminals. The plug and socket connectors. also provide mechanical support for the rear ends of the instrument casings.

The illustrated embodiment provides a mounting for two or more columns of four instruments each, but other arrangements may of course be used according to the number of instruments and the available space. A dominant advantage of the invention is the substantial elimination of all waste space at the surface of the panel assembly, thereby greatly reducing the total panel area required for a number of instruments of a given scale length. The total panel area for an assembly of eight circular type instruments is nearly twice as great as the total panel area of the illustrated assembly of four rectangular instruments ll having comparable scale lengths.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the invention provides an electrical instrument panel assembly of compact and sturdy construction that is characterized by a very high ratio of scale length to panel area. The invention is not restricted to assemblies of square instruments, however, as other forms of instrument housings may be employed when there is ample space for mounting the larger housings. Nor is the invention restricted to instrument panel assemblies as the described construction may be used for mounting mechanical instruments of the pressure actuated type. The flexible tubing connections to such instruments may be made through telescoped sleeve connectors similar in general to the illustrated plug and socket ccnnec tors for electrical instruments. With both the electrical and the mechanical instruments, the construction of the assembly admits of ready removal and replacement of individual instruments without requiring removal of the panel assembly as a whole from its installation. Also, the plugand-socket connector arrangement makes it unnecessary to go behind the panel to connect or disconnect wires when installing or removing in dividual instruments.

The invention is not limited to the particular embodiment thereof herein shown and described; it may be embodied in various combinations and subcombinations as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An instrument panel assembly comprising a rack including a rear panel, horizontally spaced, vertically extending, forwardly projecting webs carried by said panel and a vertically extending flange on the front of each web; a column of instrument casings with the rear ends thereof disposed in each vertical space defined by adjacent webs, the forward ends of said casings ceing rectangular and constituting per'se the entire face of the panel assembly, each casing having lateral extensions with rear surfaces transversely aimed at about the center of gravity of the casing for seating against the flanges of the adjacent for wardly projecting webs, fastener elements can by said lateral extensions and operable from the front of the instrument casing, complementary fastening elements carried by said flanges f or se curing said casings thereto, and means mechanically supporting the rear ends of said instruments upon the rear panel, said supporting means com-- prising complementary electrical connector elements carried by said instruments and said rear panel.

2. An instrument panel assembly comprising a rack including a rear panel, horizontally spaced, vertically extending, forwardly projecting webs carried by said panel and a vertically flange on the front of each web; a column of instrument casings of rectangular form in transverse cross-section disposed in each space defined by adjacent webs, the rectangular faces of adjacent casings being in approximate contact to constitute per se the entire face of the panel assembly; each casing having lateral extensions with rear surfaces transversely alined at about the center of gravity of the casings for seating against the flanges of adjacent webs; locknuts secured to said flanges in line with the lateral extensions of each instrument casing; screws carried by the lateral extensions of said casings in complementary relation to said locknuts, the heads of said screws being exposed at the front faces of said instruments; and complementary connector elements carried by said instruments and by said 15 rear panel.

KARL M. LEDERER.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,755,166 Cannon Apr. 22, 1930 1,855,614 Sparkes Apr. 26, 1932 1,958,916 Hammerly May 15, 1934 2,020,913 Schramm Nov. 12, 1935 2,043,904 Pierce June 9, 1936 2,050,378 Randall Aug. 11, 1936 2,126,674 Stout Aug. 9, 1938 2,210,696 West Aug. 6, 1940 2,336,121 Pampallona Dec. 7, 1943 2,359,247 Rowe Sept. 26, 1944 2,387,468 Ritzel Oct. 23, 1945 2,438,371 Marholz Mar. 23, 1948 

